alt Hacker NewsAd hominem is a logical fallacy where you try to discredit what a person says based on who they are. If their arguments are bad, you should be able to refute their arguments on their own terms.
https://owl.excelsior.edu/argument-and-critical-thinking/log...
You're welcome to dislike or distrust Effective Altruism (EA). But, it's worth noting that EA ran a criticism contest with $100K in prizes for best critiques. Can you name any other "cults" which offer money for people to criticize their ideas? https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/YgbpxJmEdFhFGpqci/...
This is typical cult follower talk. Are you sure you're not a member? This is also NOT ad hominem because conflict of interest matters here. You should disclose if you are a member or represent a party.
For your question: Yes. Cults have lots of money coming from unknown sources. They use their budget for events like that, to attract potential followers. Contests and prizes are typical. Critiques are not important since their "ideas" are not really important. They're not even real ideas, they are means to bait specific kind of people.